The rise in wealth alone could lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty in Australia
The collective wealth of Australia’s billionaires increased by $25.67 billion over the past year — equivalent to almost $50,000 per minute according to new analysis by Oxfam Australia of the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List.
The truly staggering surge in wealth is the third consecutive year of wealth gains, and Australia now has its highest number of billionaires on record. This bumper year for billionaires and Australia’s richest comes at a time of ongoing cost-of-living crisis, with millions of households continuing to struggle with rising rents, grocery prices and energy bills.
The anti-poverty organisation said the figures highlighted the widening gap between Australia’s wealthiest people and ordinary households, renewing calls for a tax on the super-rich and broader tax reform to tackle inequality.
Oxfam analysis found:
- The total wealth of Australian billionaires in 2026 has reached more than $686 billion.
- Australia now has 178 billionaires, up 17 from last year – the most billionaires on record.
- The 20 richest Australians hold more wealth than the bottom 3 million households.
The increase in billionaire wealth in the past year alone could have:
- Lifted nearly 1 million Australians out of poverty.
- Covered household electricity bills for every single Australian household for well over 1 year.
- Funded Australia’s entire aid budget almost five times over.
- Covered the cost of grocery bills for almost 3 million households for a year.
While the 2026 Federal Budget included some measures aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures and modest reforms to tax concessions benefiting wealthy Australians, it fell short of the structural reforms needed to address rapidly growing wealth inequality.
Jennifer Tierney, Oxfam Australia Chief Executive, said the figures highlighted the growing gap between Australia’s wealthiest people and ordinary households still struggling with high living costs.
“As ordinary Australians continue to feel pressure at the checkout, at the petrol pump and when paying rent or mortgages, billionaire wealth is continuing to surge,” said Ms Tierney.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where extreme wealth keeps skyrocketing while so many people are struggling to afford the basics, and governments claim there is not enough money for housing, healthcare, climate action and essential services,” she said.
“The Budget included some welcome measures to ease pressure on households and begin reforming unfair tax settings, but it did not go far enough to address the scale of wealth inequality growing in Australia.
“While modest, reforms to Capital Gains Tax and negative gearing are important steps towards a fairer tax system. Australia should not continue rewarding wealth accumulation more generously than work, particularly at a time when so many households are under pressure.
“While misinformation and misplaced fears about small business and aspiration continue to dominate debate around these reforms, the reality is that the wealth of the super-rich continues to grow while poverty persists. Without structural reform to the tax system, that divide will only deepen.
“A fairer approach to taxing extreme wealth would help ensure governments can properly invest in affordable housing, healthcare, climate action and support for communities doing it tough here and abroad.”
Oxfam is calling on the Australian Government to take bold action to tackle inequality by taxing the super-rich.
For interviews, contact Lucy Brown on 0478 190 099 / [email protected]
Notes to editor:
Wealth figures from AFR Rich Lists have been inflation-adjusted to March 2026 Australian dollars, using quarterly CPI figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Data on Australian household wealth was derived using microdata from the ABS’ Survey of Income and Housing, inflation-adjusted to 2026.
The Australian National University (ANU), for the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, modelled an increase of the JobSeeker payment to 90% of the Aged Pension and found that it would cost $19.4 billion over four years and lift 932,404 out of poverty.
Estimates for the total cost of household electricity bills and food were derived from Canstar household survey results for average electricity bills and grocery bills alongside ABS household number projections. Latest figures for Australia’s development assistance budget are sourced from the ANU’s Australian Aid Tracker.
